Harlequin Historical May 2011
286 pages By Michelle Willingham
BLURB ON BACK OF BOOK:
Bram MacKinloch has spent seven long, torturous years in captivity with only three things to keep him alive—pure brute strength, a thirst for revenge and the memory of his pretty wife's face.
Shock is only one of the emotions coursing through Nairna's body when she sees Bram again. His scars tell of suffering, the hunger in his eyes speak of a burning desire so raw it could consume them both. But a lot has changed since they ~so innocently wed….
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I enjoyed this story of love lost, and found. I adored Michelle's Irish Warrior MacEgan series, and was looking forward to her switching the backdrop to Highland Scotland.
This is a fine beginning. The hero Bram MacKinloch escapes prison, after seven long years of torture and brutal treatment. He was but a fresh faced lad of seventeen when captured, and newly wed. So newly wed he didn't even have a chance to consummate his marriage to the equally young Nairna. What a bummer.
But what must be an absolute downer to Bram is to find his wife, thinking him dead. remarried, and has a daughter. She is however, now a widow.
Bram is the tortured hero here, literally. He finds it hard to vocalize anything, let alone his emotions. So Nairna has her work cut out for her. Michelle thoroughly delves into what Bram is suffering, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The poor man has been put through hell. Watching them have to fall in love all over again, after so much had changed, was very moving.
Nairna was a fine heroine, strong, loving and very patient.
A lot of secondary characters and adventures, some of it unresolved, as there are a few more books in this series. I am interested in brother Callum, as he was captured the same time as Bram, and seems in worse shape. Younger brother Alex had to take over as Chieftain in Bram's absence, and his marriage is not the best.
Stir into this mix guilt, as Bram's father was killed in the battle that saw Bram and Callum be taken prisoner, and you have almost insurmountable odds of Bram ever leading some sort of life.
Enjoyable read, lots of deeply felt emotion and turmoil, and well drawn secondary characters that show promise for the continuing series.
3.5 stars out of 4 for the book
NOTE: I started reading the next book from netgalley 'Seduced by Her Highland Warrior' and I am not enjoying this one quite as much. Brother Alex and his marriage is not making for compelling reading, we will see how it all shakes out~
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